2007 Support for Families of Children with Disabilities - 25th Anniversary Videographer: Raya Duenas Editor: Mike Durkin Narrator: Shanta Jambotkar Transcripts: Natalie Oropeza Time of Video: 00:05:46 High Quality QuickTime video (~13 MB) Music playing John: You got it! Very good. Give it up for Chloe y’all Chloe: Singing Shanta: Children with disabilities, like all children, need opportunities to grow. To help their children, families need to be informed, educated, and supportive as well as inspired and empowered. Support for Families of Children with Disabilities began with this vision on the small scale in 1982. From three volunteers, answering parents’ questions and offering workshops and support groups, the organization has grown to reach hundreds of families each year and added many new services including volunteer parent mentors, a resource library, mental health consultation, and family events. We have recently asked families attending our information and resource conference what support for families have meant for them. David Lazerwitz, Noah Lazerwitz’s father: Ummm, generally, it’s been, in general it’s been a great resource for us. Umm, Support for Families provides a support group that my wife goes to. Provides a sort of network of different families that we have connected with… And here today at this resource fair, it’s just a great collection of resources, I mean, the people presenting on various topics is very informative for us in our day to day lives. But also, the literally, you know probably 50 to 100 booths that are here of people that provide various services. It’s just great and very helpful. We’re collecting materials. I just went to a seminar on adaptive physical education and it will help me with my son’s IEP when we go in next time to meet with the school district. You know? I’ll bring up the issue of adaptive physical education, which is something I didn’t know about before. And I think its something obviously really important for him as part of his educational process. So yeah, I think that’s a real practical sort of, you know, result of this. Ross MacKinnon & Stelly Kuo: Cassidy MacKinnon’s parents They provide us services and advice for situations where we feel… sort of lost. Ah, one example is with the school district-what to say, what our rights are. Um, I’ve attended many workshops like the IEP workshop, the inclusion workshop and also the parent mentor panel, I guess (cough) program… So I am trying to give back by helping other parents. Betty Hites, Son: Kenny Preston I, they put me in touch some resources that otherwise I wouldn’t been able…I wouldn’t have known about. And today in the 1st group meeting that I attended I asked a couple of questions. And then after the meeting there were several people who came up who had these similar experiences and also it had info to give they gave me there emails numbers and phone numbers and so forth. So that not only am I getting info here but it’s an ongoing resource for me that I’m looking forward to tapping into. (great) it’s really helpful to know these other experiences that other people have had (great) & I learned a lot of things that didn’t even realize that would be helpful, that I wouldn’t have thought to ask. So it’s been terrifically helpful (great) Shanta: we also had a chance to capture the voices of young peope at our recent walk and roll event. We think that Chloe says it best. Chloe singing Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful” John: alright, good job! Look at you. Spencer. Chloe’s dancing dolphins. And it’s just that Chloe loves dolphins and the color pink. John: Yeah, yeah, yeah, now look at you. There you go!!! Good Chloe! We thought of this way before you. *singing: keep on the sunny side of life* *singing: Chloe* John: Alright Chloe! Yeah! Oh!! Right!!! *laughing* Look at her people! Tell ‘em!! Alright keep going! Ooo! This is our finale y’all! Finale!!! Yeah keep going! *Judge: 5 for me* John: Give it up for Chloe! Take a bow girl!!!! Diva!!! Diva, diva, diva!!!